Hi all and particularly the Electric December team,
As we start thinking more about Electric December 2013 it would be great if you could share your thoughts about last year’s website. This will help us develop a brief for designing and building the site this year.
So with reference to http://www.electricdecember.org/12/ please feedback your thoughts via the comments for this post. Here are a few questions to guide you…but all and any other thoughts are welcome too, however small or seemingly off-beat.
- What was your first impression of the site?
- Does the site clearly explain enough what the site is and what you can do there?
- How usable did you find the site? Could you find your way round and watch the films?
- How do you think it looks from a design point of view? Does it represent the work of the filmmakers in a visually appealing way? Is it designed in a way that is inclusive ie it wouldn’t put off an older audience or conversely an audience of under 21s.
- What about the features of the website? Is there anything else you think that you should be able to do on the website?
- What is good about the site? What is bad about the site?
- Any other thoughts?
Any questions then do let me know.
Thanks a lot, David
Hi David,
Thanks for this. My feedback, as per your questions:
1) My first impression was that the site, whilst very functional, isn’t very exciting or grabbing – there’s no draw that makes you want to navigate around it and find out more. I found the fact that the numbers on the first calendar aren’t in chronological order quite confusing, and the navigation bar initially quite difficult to spot. I did really like the graffiti photos – perhaps this style would be something to focus on more this year?
2) Found the amount of explanation just right – just enough but not so much you feel overwhelmed / bored. Did think it might be nicer to have a bit more information about each of the filmmakers and films though. Maybe some technical specs?
3) The site was quite usable. Could watch all the films fine, but would have liked them to be presented in a slightly slicker way (see point 1).
4) I think the design doesn’t really speak to a specific target audience – probably because it’s trying to be all inclusive – but that it really should. I think a bit part of this year’s Electric December will be to answer the specific question of who it’s really for (and my answer to this is aspiring young filmmakers) and tailor the design of the website accordingly. I think the older audience – which shouldn’t be entirely overlooked – will be / should be reached through other forms of marketing (perhaps public showings or Twitter…!)
5) If social media is going to play a big part this year, I think it might be an idea to incorporate a live feed of ED’s Facebook and / or Twitter page onto the site. A small, concise logo that can be used across social media and other publicity (like the Watershed and DepicT! have). More graphics on the site. A ‘links’ page to some partner organisations / spotlights on certain past films / images from past films and / or past events.
6) Probably implied by other answers!
7) Not sure if this is just my browser, but the archive page really doesn’t work for me. All the fonts on it are different – especially to the rest of the website – which just makes it look messy. No other comments or thoughts (yet!)
Hi David Redfern,
We have had some group discussion today about the questions you posited and these are a couple of the things I have been thinking about since then. First off, I should say I’m not from a design background so these thoughts are only initial reactions and also reiterating ideas put forward by others.
I think the previous website was a little busy. With the thumbnails scattered across the page, set on top of quite a colourful image, I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at. Looking at Tumblr as an example (a website that displays lots of moving gif files, videos and colourful pictures) the website itself is bold but quite minimal, which I like very much.
Rosie suggested a ‘hand-rendered’ feel to the website – showing us examples of music festival websites which are using a ‘hand-drawn’ aesthetic for logos and information on their websites. I really liked this idea – I think it gives a personal feel to the website. Previous websites in the Electric December archive have looked a little computer generated and perhaps weren’t effectively targeted at a young adult audience.
In response to Joanna’s post above, I believe the live-feed feature would be a good addition to the website – creating a link to the facebook account. I think it’s important to relate the website to the social media that is associated with Electric December.
Sam
Excellent – thanks for the feedback. Really valuable thoughts.
Any more for any more?
David
Hi David,
I think the main points have been covered by Joanna and Sam above; I am in particular favour of a less cluttered feel to the film display area – I like how content is displayed on Watershed’s main website, with minimal colour blocking. We talked last week about different designs – such as having a scroll wheel to display the films with a screen area beside it. The live feed from our social media sites would be a great addition.
Rosie showed us some examples last week of web designs that we could aspire to emulate using a hand-rendered effect – given the right style I think this would appeal to our target audience quite well. I’d love to focus on an ‘electric’ concept for our colour scheme and graphic style – cool colours and long focus images (having said this I do not have experience in design so that may only make sense in my head!).
I would like to add regarding last year’s page that all the navigational tabs appear below the fold so to speak, i.e. you have to scroll down to see them. I think it would be better if these were immediately visible. A button style logo is also something I consider key in order to unite our identities across social media, the web and offline.
Nicola
Sorry for such a late response! I’ve certainly been thinking about the project but not found the time to sit and reply to this post.
I think a lot of what the group has discussed has been highlighted in their comments above. It was a collective view that last years website, though usable and simplistic, lacked the energy of a younger market. As discussed, I have pitched the idea of ‘exercise book margins’ – by which I acknowledge the ‘Under 21’ bracket will encompass mostly students at varying levels of study. Throughout my own time in school/college/university, being a creative and full of ideas, I found myself constantly doodling and scribbling notes alongside the work I was carrying out. I understand in it’s original state, that may sound illegible – although it’s a basis to form a design theme. The use of hand-rendered (or inspired) type may also be a good way of retaining informality without compromise of good design work.
In terms of the current site – my first impressions was that the colour pallet didn’t work – was a bit in-your-face…I assume many creative youngsters will still have a grasp of contemporary design and layout thanks to mobile apps and sites such as Tumblr, so perhaps it can still be bold without the bright colours? I suppose it depends on the browser being used but I felt it was unnecessarily horizontal – you had to scroll down to see only a small bit of (quite relevant) information. This led me to think perhaps a permanently positioned background with a scrolling foreground would be effective if it’s doable?
In terms of what worked with previous websites – I liked the e-card idea but that seems a bit dated these days so we can think of an alternative method of sharing. I think the Facebook like/Tweet/Pinterest links could all be made more of a deal of to encourage wider sharing and discussion (maybe illustrated buttons??)
I wasn’t a fan of the fonts used, or their sizing, last year seemed busy and to lack linearity (maybe a bit condescending of child-like chaos?) There felt like a lot of clicking had to be done to get to what I wanted to watch…However the content was all relevant and concise, and although I thought the design was a bit stagnant, it was consistent.
I’m in the early stages of creating this Electric December board on Pinterest to culminate visual inspiration and try to share my ideas in a way which doesn’t involve me talking (thus confusing everyone…and myself!) so I hope this can shed some light on some of what we’ve been talking about David:
https://shop.ligne-roset.co.uk/store/540-p-rewrite-desk.html
Oh last thing quick: have you got the facilities to create a mobile app? It could send a reminder to users that there is a door to open on each day??
Hi All,
Thanks for the great feedback – some really clear thoughts coming through. I will try and write these up now into a brief and get that over for your input tomorrow evening.
Rosie – your Pinterest board seems to be a link to a very cool desk! Could you supply a link again as it would be really good to see some of the visual reference points for explanation of the design thoughts.
Thanks,
David